SteelSeries Outs Stratus XL Controller For Android

When it comes to gaming peripherals for Android devices, the selection of controllers has grown quite a bit over the years, but there is little choice available from big name brands like SteelSeries and others. The good news is that is about to change as SteelSeries announced a brand new controller that will be compatible with Android and Windows phones this morning during the E3 conference in L.A. It’s called the SteelSeries Stratus XL wireless gaming controller and it features a full-size controller design similar to what you might find from Xbox or Playstation, although it takes on more of an Xbox style shape.

The Stratus XL is already available for iOS devices, but this model made for Android and Windows is a completely new model of the Stratus XL with new buttons as well as some new functionality, and an updated design to it as SteelSeries mentions it was “specifically designed for Android and Windows gaming.” It’s also stated to work with Windows-based PCs as well as micro consoles and set-top boxes like the Amazon Fire TV and others, giving it quite a bit of versatility. SteelSeries says it has a varied set of customization options through the SteelSeries Engine software suite, allowing you to configure various settings like joystick sensitivity and other joystick settings as well as axis inversion.

As for the controller layout itself including what buttons gamers can look forward to, the joysticks are more akin to the DualShock 4 controller but the actual shape is more like an Xbox One as stated above. It carries a D-Pad, the ABXY setup, and two joysticks on the bottom of the controller, along with left and right bumper and trigger buttons up top. They have also added a tri-button setup in the middle of the controller which can be used to navigate Steam Big Picture mode on the PC as well as handle navigation in games. The Stratus XL takes a set of two AA batteries which gives it about 40 hours worth of battery life and play time, and SteelSeries says it’s compatible with thousands of games on the Play Store so users shouldn’t have trouble finding a game to play with it. It’s expected to go on sale sometime next month and will cost about $59.99.